Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

Viewpoints: Vouchers For Medicare; Evaluating The Many Parts Of The Health Law; A Single-Payer Plan For Oregon

The New York Times: The High Price Of Rigidity With a hard deadline looming, talks to prevent a government shutdown have been stymied for a week because Tea Party members of the House have demanded everything: not just some of their cuts but almost all of them, and not just a reduction in spending but a reduction only in the programs they don't like. Many are insisting Democrats also agree to nonbudgetary riders, like ending the financing of Planned Parenthood or health care reform (3/29).

Kaiser Health News: High-Deductible Plans: When Spending Less On Health Care Isn't Always Good News Redesigning insurance in a way that actually lowers spending and, by the way, promotes good health, is a lot more complicated than merely giving people "more skin in the game," as conservatives like to put it. A new study by researchers affiliated with the Rand Institute suggests why (Jonathan Cohn, 3/30).

The Weekly Standard/NPR: Vouching For Medicare Reform [T]here's only one thing that would preserve the best of the American medical system while keeping Medicare's skyrocketing costs from bankrupting the country. It's called "premium support" or "defined contribution." Those are clunky euphemisms for what's really involved: vouchers that would let seniors pick their own health insurance, just as they already choose their provider of prescription drugs (Fred Barnes, 3/28).

KQED: One Year Later After decades of fruitless advocacy, policy fights and political showdowns, we are finally changing the health care system to one that is more affordable, of higher quality and makes more plain sense. One year after the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, we should take a moment to marvel at what we have achieved (Dr. Ricky Choi, 3/29).

Kansas City Star: Parts Of Health Care Reform Law Are Better Liked Than Its Sum Understanding the components of health reform is the first step toward being able to have a reasonable discussion about the law's strengths and limitations. Creating a healthier Missouri comes down to the simple act of understanding how the Affordable Care Act will benefit you as an individual and as a citizen (Dr. James R. Kimmey and Ryan Barker, 3/29).

The Oregonian: A Single-Payer Health Care System Would Work For Oregon Am I crazy, a physician embracing legislative efforts to create a single-payer health care system in Oregon? You be the judge. It would create thousands of jobs. It would provide health care to people whether they work full time, part time or are retired, disabled, sick or unemployed. It would stimulate Oregon business. It would reduce our state deficit. And it would provide comprehensive care to every Oregonian without spending more than we do now (Samuel Metz, 3/29).

The Wall Street Journal: Medical Progress, Please How does a device like MelaFind come into the world? It begins when a small defense contractor specializing in computer vision is approached by pharmaceutical giants seeking objective ways to evaluate unguents for hair growth, wrinkle reduction or wound healing. An adviser to the small company, a world-famous dermatologist, pipes up: "Wound healing is cool, but if you really want to do something for humanity, help us detect melanomas (Holman W. Jenkins, Jr., 3/30).

This is part of the KHN Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.